Download PDF - Stillness Speaks

THE BREATHThe breath, as you’ve undoubtedly noticed, goes in and out nicely onits own. The idea is to watch the breath, not breathe consciously, althoughyou may notice that observing the breath consciousizes it a bit. Not to worry.It will soon settle down and return to its normal pattern. Because it meansego, control is unnecessary. The point of meditation is to relax, not justphysically but mentally. Watching the breath occupies the mind with asimple rhythmic object. Because it wants glamour and excitement, the mindquickly grows bored, a sign you’re proceeding properly. Watching the breathis boring. But boring's good. Learning to enjoy boredom is one of thebenefits of meditation.At this point give the mind a job. Train your attention to “ride” on thebreath as it goes in and out. When the breath is out the attention should flowout and when the breath comes flowing in, the attention comes with it, as ifsitting on an upside-down swing.Of course, the mind will wander. Pull it back and synchronize it withthe breath. It needn’t ride perfectly on every breath. Don't get upset if itdoesn't work immediately. Take your time.Meditation's not about the breath anyway. The breath’s only a tool.How long should one work with it? There's no hard and fast rule, sometimesfive or ten minutes, sometimes longer. It just depends. What you're lookingfor is a sign that the mind is getting quiet because the mind stills quicklywhen synchronized with the breath.If you see that the mind and breath are synchronizing use surplusattention to release pent-up thoughts and feelings on the outbreath. Don'trelate to or analyze the thoughts/feelings at this point, simply pay attention towhat you're doing, and let the mind empty on its own. Just as the outbreathcleanses the body, releasing thoughts detoxifies the mind. From a meditativeperspective the meditator’s relationship to the thoughts is more importantthan the thoughts themselves. Later, when you're seeing from the Self, youmay wish to analyze them, even though ultimately all thoughts are basicallyuseless. At this point don't worry about losing them, they'll be back. Themind will never completely empty, so don't worry. The point of meditation isto take a little pressure off and help it quiet down.72